Wednesday, May 27, 2009

I'm sure all of us have seen near-misses at games... a fan isn't paying attention as a foul ball screams past, a first base coach gets nearly decapitated by a line drive. This book seems to bring it all home. (It turns out that errant line drives and fastballs aren't the most frequent culprit in on-field deaths.)

Here's the most improbably tragic story:

During a 1949 amateur game in Florida, the third baseman, shortstop, and second baseman were all killed by a single lightning bolt, which struck the backstop, then shot around the infield as though completing a double play.

The book obviously wont appeal to everyone, but at least the Slate review is worth a look.

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About Me

David Martinez has worked as a news reporter, sports broadcaster, and advertising copywriter, but his biggest love has always been baseball. A member of the Society for American Baseball Research, he reads extensively on the sport and owns an expansive baseball library. Among the significant moments in his life, he counts the day he met statistics guru Bill James at a book signing.
David has appeared on dozens of radio stations around the country, from KNBR in San Francisco to KOA in Denver to KDKA in Pittsburgh, and beyond. He’s done book signings in San Jose, Palo Alto, and San Francisco.
A California native, he received his bachelor’s degree in English from the University of California at Berkeley, and he now makes his home in San Jose.
Contact David at david@homerunweb.com